1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a bipolar optical plug-and-socket connector for connecting two optical fibers with other optical fibers, electro-optical transmission devices, or electro-optical receiving devices in which the bipolar optical connector has an optical housing for holding two fiber end sleeves which terminate respective ends of the two optical fibers.
2. Background Art
Optical plug-and-socket connectors connect optical fibers with one another and to devices having opto-electronic transducers. Optical fibers are used to build so-called ring bus structures which are especially prevalent in automobiles. In a ring bus structure, optical fibers connect several devices in a ring-shaped configuration to enable the devices to communicate with one another through a data bus. Connecting devices to a ring-shaped optical fiber configuration involves providing each device with a bipolar connection. For each device, one connection terminal is assigned to a transmission line of the device and the other connection terminal is assigned to a receiving line of the device. The transmission line of a given device connects to the receiving line of a subsequent device in the ring, and the receiving line of the given device connects to the transmission line of a preceding device in the ring.
Plug-and-socket connectors used in such a ring-shaped configuration can advantageously be designed as bipolar plug-and-socket connectors. However, to make things easier to handle, it is possible for the final assembly of the plug-and-socket connectors with the optical fibers to be done once assembly of the ring bus system is complete. Only the first ends of a set of two optical fibers can be preassembled because the other ends of the two optical fibers held in a bipolar plug-and-socket connector of a given device are connected with two different devices. The two different devices are neighboring devices in the ring. In order to protect the fiber end sleeves, and thus protect the sensitive end surfaces of the other ends of the optical fibers, it is generally necessary to place additional protective caps or the like on them for protection during transport until they are used to connect devices to the ring.
Performing the final assembly at the time when the ring line is being put together presents an additional danger of optical fiber mix-up. This is because only the prefabricated part of the plug-and-socket connector can be coded while the loose optical fiber ends, which still have to be inserted into the plug-and-socket connectors for the neighboring devices, can be mixed up. This danger is addressed by labeling the plug-and-socket connectors on their outside surfaces with printed arrow symbols which the operator assembling the system is supposed to heed.